


Lifeline

by CakeLoverForLife



Category: Madam Secretary
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:28:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27813817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CakeLoverForLife/pseuds/CakeLoverForLife
Summary: Pre-Series. When Elizabeth is seriously injured while on a mission in the CIA, Henry drops what he is doing and flies to Germany.
Relationships: Elizabeth McCord/Henry McCord, Isabelle Barnes & Elizabeth McCord
Comments: 6
Kudos: 13





	Lifeline

**Author's Note:**

> So, apparently my brain really likes coming up with ideas at midnight, so here we are! I'm not sure how this fits into what we know about Elizabeth's CIA days, but we're going with it, okay? Honestly, I just have some serious writers block with my other two multi-chapter fics, so I decided to work on a way shorter fic, probably only couple chapters. Just so you know, this is set before Jason was born, and obviously before Elizabeth was offered the Baghdad station chief job. Also, I possess basically zero medical knowledge, so bare with me. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Madam Secretary or any of it's characters. If I did, we would have gotten way more insight into Elizabeth's CIA days, and Stevie and Blake would have ended up together. Don't judge!

Henry fought the urge to vomit at the sight of the number on his caller ID. He snatched the phone from the receiver, leaving the room so that his four-year-old daughter would not hear whatever he was about to be told. When he and Elizabeth had gotten married six years ago, he had been informed that his wife was a member of the CIA. Conrad Dalton, the CIA director and close friend of his wife’s, had pulled him aside and given him a phone number. 

“You won’t get a call from this number unless something has happened to Bess,” Conrad had said. “And if you see it, brace yourself.”

That was what Henry was doing, the number he had been given visible on the landline’s caller ID. Something had happened to Elizabeth.

She was on a mission; that much he knew. She couldn’t tell him where she was, and he knew better than to push. She rarely was sent on missions anymore, usually staying behind a desk and Langley. The fact that she had been pregnant with their youngest daughter, Ally, last year probably had something to do with her analyst job. He had thought that now that she had two children, the missions would be over, but he was apparently wrong. She had said tearful goodbyes to Henry and her daughters, and headed off to who-knows-where.

“Hello?” he spoke into the receiver, trying to keep the quiver out of his voice.

“Henry…” The voice was Conrad’s, and Henry heard a sigh on the other end. 

“Is she alive?” Henry demanded. He knew he probably shouldn’t speak in that manner to the director of the CIA, but he was past all logic at that point.

“Henry…” Conrad started again, but Henry interrupted.

“It’s a yes or no question, Conrad. Is she alive?” he asked, emphasizing each of the words in his last sentence.

“Yes Henry, she’s alive,” Conrad confirmed, and Henry felt his stomach untie itself a small amount. Not all of the way though, because he was still getting a call from this number, and something was still wrong.

“Okay, what’s going on?” he asked, his head clearing a bit.

“Henry, there was an accident,” Conrad started. “An explosion. Someone planted explosives in a vehicle. Bess was in the passenger seat when the explosives detonated.”

“Is… is she okay?” Henry managed to stammer out, his stomach retying into a pretzel. 

“She’s alive, Henry. She was transported to Landstuhl a couple of hours ago.”

“Hours?” Henry asked incredulously.

“Look, even I was just informed ten minutes ago, and I had to discuss it with the team here before I could call you.”

“Can… can I go be with her?” Henry requested solemnly, seeming regaining his sense of respect for his wife’s boss.

“Of course. I’ll snag a flight ticket for as soon as you can leave.”

“Thanks, thanks… I have to figure out what to do with the girls, then I can go.”

“Lydia and I can take care of them if you want to get out of here quickly,” Conrad offered, and Henry breathed an audible sigh of relief.

“Yeah, that would be really helpful. Thanks, Conrad,” Henry said, tapping his fingers on the table.”

“I can get you a flight in the next hour, if you want to drop the girls off at my place on your way.”

“That would be good. Conrad?” Henry started.  
“Yes, Henry?”

“How bad is it?” he questioned.

“She’ll live, but… it’s not good,” Conrad replied quietly. “You need to be there for her.”

* * *

Henry stepped out of the airplane and into the frigid German cold. The airstrip was nearly abandoned, probably for the best. As the other passengers on the plane made their way down the stairs, he scanned the few people standing on the airstrip, spotting a familiar face.

“Isabelle!” he called out, climbing down the steps as fast as reasonably possible. She waved him over, and opened the SUV door for him, throwing his bag in the back seat. She ran around to the driver’s side, shut the door, and turned to face him.

“Boy am I glad to see you, Henry!” she declared as she started the vehicle. When he looked around nervously, she chuckled. “Don’t worry. They checked this SUV before I left Landstuhl, and again when I got here. We’re safe.”

“What… what happened?” he asked. Of course, he had heard what Conrad had told him on the phone, but he needed more.

Isabelle turned solemn eyes towards him, before putting the SUV into drive and speeding off of the airstrip. “We were leaving the base in… Well, I s’pose the mission’s off, so I can tell you… we were leaving the base in Kabul. It was supposed to just be a transport to a more secure location outside the city. There had been some unrest in the area we were in. Bess got in on the passenger side. I was going to be in back, there was a soldier driving us. I had forgotten my satellite phone inside the base, so I ran inside quick to get it. I was running down the stairs to the SUV when it exploded.”

Henry tried to grasp what he was hearing. His wife had been in Afghanistan? That place was a powder keg! What was Conrad thinking? He realized Isabelle had paused her story, seeing him lost in thought, but he nodded for her to keep talking.

“A couple of soldiers and I pulled them out of the fire. The driver was dead, and Bess was… well, it wasn’t good.” Isabelle visablly shuddered, and it caused a chill to run down Henry’s spine. “We found another SUV in a more secure area. The two soldiers who had helped get her out sat in front, and we booked it to the nearest army hospital. From there, Bess was airlifted here, and I rode along.”

“How is she now?” Henry asked, slightly terrified to receive an answer.

“Last I heard, she was just getting out of surgery. I know something happened to one of her lungs, and I heard something about internal bleeding.” He winced, and Isabelle paused for a moment before continuing. “She definitely had a shattered leg, and a broken arm. I didn’t hear anything about it, but I could feel it when we pulled her out. She has a few broken ribs, and a lot of cuts and bruises. One of her eyes was bleeding in the SUV. I’m sorry, Henry. I wish I could tell you more. You’ll have to ask the doctors when we get there.”

“I… I know. It’s just a lot to take it.”

“Henry, she’s alive. Considering the circumstances, I’d say that’s pretty good news. Speaking of getting there,” Isabelle said as they pulled up in front of Landstuhl, “here we are!” She pulled the keys out of the ignition as soon as they had parked, and they both jumped out of the vehicle, and ran through the front door.

* * *

As a nurse led Henry and Isabelle through the halls of the hospital, he kept trying to remind himself that Elizabeth was fine; that she would be coming home. It wasn’t working. He was still as jumpy as a rabbit.

Rounding a corner, he was surprised to see more familiar faces sitting on a bench outside a room.

“Juliet? George? What are you guys doing here? You weren’t all on the same mission, were you?” Henry inquired.

“Oh, no!” George let out a snort. “Conrad would never allow that. No, we were both stationed in the area, and when we heard that…” George trailed off, and Juliet picked up for him.

“When George heard, he called me, and we both agreed to drive out here and make sure Bess was okay. Of course, we had to clear it with our superiors, but since neither of us are undercover, that wasn’t all too difficult.”

“Yeah,” George added, “Especially when you have the director of the CIA put in a good word for you!”

“What’s going on in there?” Henry asked, pointing to the door that he assumed led to Elizabeth’s room.

“Oh, they’re weaning her off of some of the sedatives, so they told us to leave,” Juliet explained.

“Yeah, they said, and I quote, we prefer if family and friends leave the room while we perform our task. It was the most polite version of ‘get out’ I have ever heard!” George chuckled, but put a hand over his mouth when he saw the look on Henry’s face. “Sorry, that wasn’t appropriate. She really will be fine, Henry. She’s a tough one.”

“I… I know,” Henry agreed, though his voice conveyed his concern. The whole group turned to watch as the door opened and two nurses walked out, closing the door behind them.

“You can go in now if you want,” the younger of the two informed them.

“You ready?” Isabelle asked him.

“Yeah. Well, no, but let’s go,” he nodded, walking up to the door and pushing it open.

He couldn’t have been prepared for the scene awaiting him if he had seen a picture. His wife, his strong, powerful, confident wife, was lying still and pale in a hospital bed. A tube came out of her mouth, and she was hooked up to he didn’t even know how many tubes and wires, connected all over her body. Her right leg was in a bulky white cast that nearly reached her hip, and her left arm had a matching cast that came up to her shoulder. There was a large bandage that wrapped around her head and covered her left eye, and smaller bandages all over her body, presumably covering more cuts. She had a white sheet lightly draped over her legs and midsection, and her hair was fanned out over an equally bright white pillow. 

“Dear God, Bess,” Henry heard Isabelle whisper, horrified. He couldn’t blame her. It was quite the shocking sight. He himself was frozen next to the doorway, only moving when Juliet’s hands landed on his shoulders and pushed him to a chair next to Elizabeth’s bed.

“Elizabeth,” he choked out, trying and failing not to cry. He clasped her good hand between his palms, the warmth of the appendage reminding him that his wife was indeed alive. “Babe, what did you do?”

The only answer was silence. He hadn’t expected anything else. He didn’t know how long they had all sat or stood in silence, before Juliet and George excused themselves to inform their respective bases that they would not be returning that night. They were staying at Landstuhl until Elizabeth woke up. Isabelle was called away for a debrief with the CIA and the FBI, leaving just him sitting by his wife’s side, clasping her hand, waiting for her to wake up. Waiting for her to be alright.

**Author's Note:**

> So, just a quick question. Should I make this fic all from Henry's perspective, or jump to Elizabeth next chapter. I don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying that yes, she's going to live. 
> 
> Please leave a comment! They are super helpful, and always make my day!


End file.
